1. Field of Invention
The invention relates generally to field of skiing, more particularly to apparatus used to facilitate the rolling transportation of skis to and/or from staging and storage areas, across parking lots, sidewalks, floors and the like from and/or to the place where the skis are to installed on the feet of skiers.
2. General Background
Snow skiing is a popular activity. Transportation of skis, along with ski boots and poles to and from places, such as to and/or from parking lots, sidewalks, floors, staging areas and the like, where the skis are to be installed on the feet is an inconvenience associated with skiing. Depending on the length, weight, configuration of a pair of skis, the distance they are to be transported, the surface over which they are to be transported and conditions existing at the time, the transportation of a pair of skis from staging and/or storage areas, to the point where the skis can actually be installed on the feet, can constitute a relatively arduous chore. Such chore is made more arduous if more than one pair of skis is to be transported, if bindings are installed on the skis at the time of transport (which is almost always the case), if ski boots and ski poles are also to be transported from a staging or storage area to a place where the skis are to be installed on the feet of the skier. A skier faces a similar when skiing ends and one or more pair of skis, along with bindings, boots, poles and the like are transported from the point where the skis are removed from the feet and transported back to staging or storage areas.
A number of devices have been invented to facilitate the task of transporting skis and associated skiing equipment to and from staging or storage areas to the place where the skis are to be installed on the. One such device is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,268,050 to Kennedy Sr. While such device has certain utility, it also has certain limitations. It is relatively complex, bulky and is therefore probably expensive to manufacture and sell. Moreover such device is large therefore will not fit in many lockers available at ski lodges and the like. Even if it would fit there is typically a fee for rental of such lockers. Typically the larger the locker the more the fee. Furthermore the skier may be returning to the same location he or she departed from. In such situation the skier is faced with question of what to do with the device left at the starting location and also facing the prospect of having no device to aid transportation of the skis at the destination location.
So far as applicant is aware there is no prior art which teaches a miniature ski transport which is simple, effective, inexpensive, easy to use and small, light enough to be carried on the skier when he or she is skiing or easily stored in even a small size locker.